A Year in Full Bloom: What’s Coming from Echoes of the Forest in 2026
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From a PBS documentary to a veterans’ memorial, from the birthplace of American forestry to the heart of Asheville’s Black community — this is shaping up to be the most extraordinary year for Echoes of the Forest and our communities. Let’s get started!
Our woodworking trail mission reaches new heights in 2026 — and we couldn’t be more excited to share what’s coming. From stunning new installations to landmark partnerships and long-awaited community moments, this year is shaping up to be a profound celebration of resilience, healing, and the extraordinary craft of Appalachian artisans. More than 821,000 acres of forestland were lost to Hurricane Helene — and every Echo we unveil this year is another answer to that loss.
Details are still unfolding, so stay close — follow us, bookmark this page, and get ready to celebrate alongside us.
Raising a Glass to the Forest: Sharpen the Blades at Burial Brewing | April 2026
What do you get when a fallen white oak meets the craft of a beloved Asheville brewery? Something worth toasting.
Echoes of the Forest is thrilled to celebrate the release of a very special brown ale crafted by our friends at Burial Brewing — a beer born directly from the story of Hurricane Helene. The barrels were made from a Helene-felled white oak by the skilled hands at Appalachian Cooperage in Marion, NC, giving this brew a provenance as deep and meaningful as the Blue Ridge mountains themselves.
Join us in April for the release at the Sharpen the Blades event — a celebration of craft, resilience, and the Appalachian community that refuses to be broken. This is more than a beer. It’s a story you can drink.
When: April 2026 — Details Coming Soon
Where: Forestry Camp Location, Asheville, NC
Coming Home to the Fields: Cane Creek Park Reopening | Unveiling April 4, 2026
There are few things more joyful than children returning to a soccer field. And few things are more painful than watching that field get filled with mountains of debris after the storm.
Buncombe County’s Cane Creek Park was among the places deeply wounded by Hurricane Helene. In the months that followed, it became one of the main drop-off points for Helene storm debris — a testament to both the scale of the destruction and the community’s determination to clear the path forward. This spring, the soccer fields reopen — and Echoes of the Forest is honored to mark that moment with a very special commissioned Echo called “Soccer Cub,” crafted by chainsaw carver Mike Ayers of Whetstone Woodworks, for all to enjoy.
The unveiling is on April 4th. Come, witness a new Echo take root at the park, and celebrate the simple, profound joy of returning to the fields.
When: April 4, 2026
Partners: Buncombe County Parks & Recreation
Where American Forestry Began: The Cradle of Forestry | Multiple Unveilings in 2026
There is something profoundly fitting about bringing storm-salvaged Appalachian wood back to the place where American forestry itself was born.
This year, Echoes of the Forest launches a landmark partnership with the Cradle of Forestry — with multiple Echo unveilings planned throughout 2026, along with a brand new timber event kicking off this year. Artists Mike Ayers and Mickey Strivelli, along with additional Appalachian woodworkers, are creating pieces that honor both the forest’s past and its future.
Stay tuned as this chapter unfolds. Where the story of American forestry began, a new chapter in community art and stewardship is taking shape.
When: Multiple dates throughout 2026 — Details Coming Soon
Partners: Cradle of Forestry / FIND Outdoors
Swannanoa Is Rising: Beacon Village Park | Later in 2026
Swannanoa was one of the hardest-hit communities when Helene roared through the valley. The damage was catastrophic. But so is the resolve of the people who call it home.
Echoes of the Forest is proud to announce a growing partnership with the Beacon Foundation at Beacon Village Park — a community space with deep roots in Swannanoa’s history as a Southern mill village. Multiple wood Echoes from our artisan community will be woven into the fabric of this renewed gathering place, celebrating the neighborhood’s resilience and the hands that are rebuilding it.
The park opening is planned for later in 2026. Stay tuned for dates and details as this beautiful project comes to life.
When: Park Opening Later in 2026 — Details Coming Soon
Partners: Beacon Foundation
Lights, Camera, Echoes: PBS Is Filming Our Story | Filming Begins March 2026
“The story of Echoes of the Forest reaches a national audience.”
We are beyond honored to share that PBS is producing a short documentary about Echoes of the Forest. Filming begins the first week of March at the North Carolina Arboretum and inside two of our woodworkers’ studios, capturing the artisans, the mission, and the transformative story of turning Hurricane Helene’s fallen timber into lasting community art.
For our woodworkers — the craftspeople who have poured their hearts into this work through the most difficult season of their lives — this is a moment of profound recognition. Their artistry, their stories, and the forest trees they love will soon be seen by viewers across the country.
Filming begins: March 2026
Film release: May 14, 2026
Where: North Carolina Arboretum, Asheville, NC, and two woodworkers’ studios
In Their Memory: North Buncombe Elementary School Memorial Installation
Some Echoes carry more weight than others. This one we carry with the greatest tenderness.
Echoes of the Forest will unveil a new Echo at North Buncombe Elementary School — part of a Legacy Garden created in honor of two brothers who lost their lives during Hurricane Helene: Lucas Wisely, age 9, and Felix Wisely, age 7.
On September 27, 2024, Lucas and Felix were swept away along with their mother, Allison Wisely, and her fiancé, Austin Lyon, when their vehicle was overtaken by the floodwaters of the Toe River as the family attempted to evacuate. Allison was a dedicated mother who worked at the local library. Austin worked for the state’s Department of Transportation. Lucas was remembered for his kind spirit and love of family. Felix, the younger brother, was described as a bright light in his community. They are all deeply missed. Read more about the family here.
The installation, crafted by Mike Ayers, will become a permanent part of a legacy garden for the two brothers — a gentle, living reminder of two young lives and of the love that holds this community together. Details on the unveiling date are coming soon.
When: Date TBD — Details Coming Soon
Where: North Buncombe Elementary School, Asheville, NC
At the Crossroads of History and Healing: YMI Cultural Center Bench | Juneteenth, June 19, 2026
Some corners carry the weight of history in every stone. The corner of Eagle and Market Streets in downtown Asheville is one of them.
In partnership with The Block, Echoes of the Forest will unveil a stunning new bench at the entrance to the YMI Cultural Center on Juneteenth — June 19, 2026. The piece is a masterwork by Kwadwo Som-Pimpong of Crafted Glory, whose artistry has already graced the Biltmore Forest Town Hall and whose hands bring extraordinary life to every piece of salvaged wood he touches.
The bench itself carries a story before Kwadwo ever touches chisel to wood. The oak log comes from Bee Tree Hardwoods — a tree that fell in Swannanoa during Helene and was carried downstream by the floodwaters. That this wood, swept from one of the hardest-hit communities in Western North Carolina, will now live permanently at one of Asheville's most historic cultural corners feels like something more than a coincidence.
To unveil this Echo on Juneteenth, at one of the most storied corners in the African American community of Western North Carolina, is a profound honor. This is craftsmanship, culture, and community healing meeting at exactly the right moment.
When: Juneteenth — June 19, 2026 | More Details are Coming
Where: YMI Cultural Center, Corner of Eagle & Market Streets, Downtown Asheville, NC
Partners: The Block | Crafted Glory (Kwadwo Som-Pimpong) | YMI Cultural Center
For Those Who Served: VA Hospital Memorial Bench | July 4, 2026
On the 250th birthday of the nation, Iraqi War Veterans will be honored with a new memorial sculpture and bench — carved from storm-salvaged timber that once stood in the mountain forests they once called home.
A new bench is being crafted for permanent installation at the Charles George VA Medical Center in Asheville, dedicated as a memorial to Iraqi War Veterans. The unveiling will take place on July 4, 2026, as America marks its 250th birthday — a moment of national celebration made deeper by this act of remembrance.
Stay tuned for full details on this powerful and moving tribute. It is being built with the same care and intention that our veterans brought to their service.
When: July 4, 2026 — America’s 250th Birthday
Where: Charles George VA Medical Center, Asheville, NC
The Trail Keeps Growing: North Carolina Arboretum | New Installations Throughout 2026
The North Carolina Arboretum has been one of our most treasured partners since the earliest days of Echoes of the Forest — and in 2026, their 40th anniversary year, our collaboration grows even deeper.
We are planning multiple new installations of art and handcrafted pieces from our woodworker community to be unveiled throughout the year along the Arboretum’s trails and grounds. Planning is underway, and details are coming soon, but know this: the Echoes trail at the Arboretum is expanding, and each new piece deepens the story of what these forests — and this community — are made of.
When: Multiple dates throughout 2026 — Details Coming Soon
Where: North Carolina Arboretum, Asheville, NC
A Community Writing Its Own Story of Resilience
From white oak beer barrels to memorial benches. From a national PBS documentary to a child’s Legacy Garden. From the birthplace of American forestry to the heart of Swannanoa's historic old mill village. In 2026, Echoes of the Forest is everywhere that Western North Carolina is doing the hard, beautiful work of healing.
Each of these projects exists because of the woodworkers who pour their skill and soul into the wood, the partners who believe in our mission, and the donors and commissioners who make it all possible. Every Echo tells two stories: the history of the tree, and the legacy of the people who chose to honor it.
Out of devastation comes something lasting. We are rebuilding economic roots — livelihoods, community, public art for all to enjoy, and the stories that connect us to this land.
Follow us on social media for updates as each of these events takes shape. And if you’d like to commission your own Echo, support our work, or get involved as a volunteer or sponsor, we’d love to hear from you.
Visit us at echoesoftheforest.org — or reach us at info@echoesoftheforest.org or (828) 273-3096.
Echoes of the Forest is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. Qualifying commissions and donations are tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law.
